Crazy flavourful, falling apart, juicy pork…

Ready in an hour and a half?!

Welcome to the world of the Instant Pot!

The moment I learned there was a kitchen tool I could own that could not only saute, but had the ability to cook a 3 pound hunk of meat in a little over an hour? To juicy perfection?

I freaked out.

Full board, freaked out.

It was on my wish list for a long time before I finally made the plunge. Opening that box was easily better than Christmas morning. Since that day, I’ve been recipe creating like you wouldn’t believe.

Today I bring you this delicious Instant Pot Carnitas made with a few simple ingredients. It is super flavourful, juicy and if you like, easy to crisp those edges for yummy crispy pork carnitas. My family usually eats this delicious pork with lettuce wraps or on a salad, but is also great in corn tortillas.

What ingredients you will need to make instant pot carnitas

Besides some spices there aren’t too many ingredients needed for this Instant Pot Carnitas recipe.

How to make Instant Pot Carnitas

This delicious dish is soooo easy to make! The instant pot does it’s job beautifully as it takes a giant hunk of meat from raw to falling apart after only 70 minutes of pressure cooking. Amazing right?

Let’s do it!

Start by prepping your veggies. Dice the onion and jalapeños.

How spicy do you want your carnitas to be? If the answer is zero spice, discard the seeds and the white membrane. Dice the whole pepper except the stem if you want it spicy! I prefer to keep most of the seeds but discard the membrane for a mid level spice degree.

Mince the garlic then trim the excess fat from the pork shoulder. Cut the meat into 8 portions.

Turn the instant pot onto sauté and add some oil. Mix the rub ingredients together then massage into the big chunks of meat.

Once the oil is nice and hot, sear the meat for a minute or so on each side, working in two batches. Remove the meat once all the sides of each piece have been seared and turn off the instant pot.

Deglaze the pot by pouring in 1/2 cup of the bone stock and scrubbing all the little blackened bits off the bottom. Place the meat back into the pot, right into the 1/2 cup bone stock.

Without stirring, add the onions, jalapeños, garlic, lime juice then remaining stock. Secure the lid, close the steam release valve to the sealed position and turn the instant pot on to the pressure cook mode (or manual, depending on the model you have) and adjust the time to 70 minutes.

Once complete, you can allow your instant pot to naturally release, or go ahead and carefully, using all the necessary precautions, quick release.

Optional

Let’s crisp up this meat for some extra flavour and texture.

Heat oven to broil.

Place a strainer over a large heat safe bowl. Open the lid of the instant pot then pour the entire contents out into the strainer. This is a fast and easy way to remove all the goodies from the juice.

Dump the meat onto a baking sheet and use two forks to pull all the meat into large chunks. Spread the meat evenly throughout the baking sheet, discarding any big chunks of fat.

Pour 1/2 cup of the remaining juices over the meat and broil for 5 minutes, flip the meat over and broil for another 5 minutes. Serve however you like!

Optional Toppings

There are so many toppings to choose from!

I’m a girl who likes her options and with this Instant Pot Carnitas recipe, the sky is the limit. Here is a list of my favourite toppings for this dish:

Pico De Gallo

thinly sliced cabbage

diced tomatoes

fresh cilantro

green onion

avocado

shredded cheese

sour cream

salsa

diced red pepper

Chiloulla hot sauce

Instant Pot Carnitas with Lettuce Wraps

I definitely prefer lettuce wraps to tortillas… The extra crispness, the flavour is more intense and the juiciness is just to die for

Any kind of lettuce will work great. Leaf lettuce makes nice big wraps, romaine does the trick but I find butter lettuce the best for these Instant Pot Carnitas.

Instant Pot Carnitas Salad

Salad you say? Absolutely I say!

Instant Pot Carnitas Salad is my very favourite way to use up leftover meat. Leftover veggies too if you managed to save some.

I like to use chopped head lettuce and as for toppings? There are so many to chose from! Here is a list of my favourites:

diced tomatoes

avocado

shredded cheese

green onion

diced peppers

fresh pico de gallo

cilantro

Cheese crisps – check out my Chicken Taco Soup post for instructions on how to make these

Try sour cream and/or salsa for the dressing!

Can this recipe be made in a slow cooker?

Oh definitely, if you want to wait all day for it to be ready 😂

I’m just kidding, there is defintely a time and a place for a slow cooker. My husband asked if I was going to get rid of one of my slow cookers after I bought my Instant Pot. 😳

No idea why I’d ever do such a thing.

They are excellent for coming home to a fully cooked meal! Here’s how to make this in a slow cooker:

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Heat a skillet on medium high with the oil and trim the fat from the pork. Cut into 8 chunks and massage with the spices.

Sear the meat in the hot skillet then add to the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5-6 hours on high or 8-9 on low.

Follow the remaining instructions to broil the carnitas.

What goes with instant pot carnitas?

Instant Pot Carnitas really don’t need anything to go with it. They are a fun meal that is pretty filling, however, if you are looking for a side or two, here is a list of my favourite accompaniments:

Rub

Instructions

Equipment Needed

Directions

Mince the garlic, dice the onion and jalapenos and set aside. Discard the seeds and white membrane if you do not want a spicy dish, otherwise keep them with the jalapenos.

Trim the extra fat from the pork shoulder and cut into 8 portions. Combine the rub ingredients and massage into the pork.

Turn the instant pot on to Saute and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Once hot, sear 1/2 the meat on all sides, remove from the pot then sear the second half of the meat. Remove the second batch of seared meat then pour in ½ cup bone stock to degalze the pot.

Use a wooden spoon to scrape off all the little blackened bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the meat to the pot, pour in the rest of the stock then without stirring, add the onion, garlic and jalapenos. Juice the limes over top of the other ingredients then secure the instant pot lid.

Turn the steam release valve to the sealing position then using the pressure cook mode, pressure cook for 70 minutes.

Once complete, you can allow your instant pot to naturally release, or go ahead and carefully, using all the necessary precautions, quick release.

Optional

Let’s crisp up this meat for some extra flavour and texture.

Heat oven to broil.

Place a strainer inside a large heat safe bowl. Open the lid of the instant pot and dump the entire contents into the strainer to separate the juice from the meat.

Dump the contents of the strainer out onto a baking sheet. Use two forks to pull all the meat into large chunks and spread evenly throughout the baking sheet. Discard any big chunks of fat.

Dump 1/2 cup of the remaining juices over the meat and broil for 5 minutes, flip the meat over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Serve on corn tortillas or butter lettuce wraps!

Notes

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition facts are an estimate only! The ingredients you choose could have different nutritional values than the ingredients I have used.

Deduct fibre from the total carbs to get 3.2 g net carbs per 1/2 lb serving

Nutrition

Hi, I’m Aleta! I love to create healthy recipes for my family; meals my two little stinkers actually love to eat. Raising kids can be hard, but eating healthy doesn’t have to be with the right recipes!

2 Comments

We absolutely love pork carnitas in our house! My husband and I have different tastes in food, but this is one we can definitely agree on. I have an instant pot, but admittedly, I mostly use it for soups and chili. I always resort to my slow cooker to cook pork. I may have to give this one a try in my instant pot. You just can’t beat how fast it is!

About me

Aleta

Hi, I’m Aleta! I love to create healthy recipes for my family; meals my two little stinkers actually love to eat. Raising kids can be hard, but eating healthy doesn’t have to be with the right recipes!